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Sebastian Yarrick
Skills Military Experience and the Commissariat: Commissars are generally inducted into the Schola Progenium and begin training at around the age of 12, and so Yarrick has spent most if not all of his life being taught the arts of war by one of the largest and most powerful military systems ever conceived and constructed by humankind. The Imperium, to maintain it's vast size, relies on the military juggernaut of it's Imperial Guard, and requires competent and well-educated commissars to advise on managing such enormous manpower. The upshot of this is that Sebastian Yarrick now has an excellent understanding of the battlefield and how best to dominate it with a force of soldiers; his knowledge ranges from stragatems that make use of the land available and the conditions of the battlefield itself to ambushes, siegecraft both as a defending and attacking force, and even the basics of guerilla warfare. His training has also been augmented and reinforced by over a century of active experience in one of the most hellish warzones in the Imperium, and so there is little that would surprise him in the theatre of combat. Having had to take command of a regiment of the Planetary Defence Force troopers stationed at Hades Hive, he is also well-versed in the duties, responsibilities and burden of command, something most commissars are usually spared given their role as advisors and military executioners. Finally, Yarrick is also a highly competent warrior in his own right; the experience of finding himself more often than not on the frontline with his troops has hardened and refined his combat ability, and with so much combat experience it was only natural that he ended up getting rather good at it. Bionics and Weaponry: Over time, Yarrick has taken a staggering amount of injuries, some of which were on the boundaries of being lethal. The most obvious of these, however, are his biomechanical eye and a mechanical arm. The original arm, sporting a trophy Ork hydraulic claw, was ripped off in the struggle of being brought to Pandora, and during his time here Sebastian has had it replaced with an Automail replacement. The eye, though somewhat flawed now due to age, allows for a minor level of HUD vision, and essentially works as a threat detector, pointing out any obvious weapons a person may be holding as he or she talks with him. It is not able to be controlled; that is, Yarrick cannot scan one person in particular as it works as a general threat detector, and does not distinguish between friend or foe when it comes to weapon detection. In addition, it will not register unconventional weapons such as wands or energy constructs, as it was programmed and built to detect blades and guns primarily. Yarrick's Automail arm was built for him in Pandora, and replaces his former arm. It conceals within the wrist a miniaturised replica of his laspistol (I'll cover what that does in a moment), which, despite having less charge and therefore being able to fire less shots, serves as a backup weapon should his usual handgun be made unavailable to him. Sebastian is also armed with a power sabre and a laspistol. The power sabre, though in theory a ceremonial reward for his years of service, is a lethal weapon nonetheless; it works by chargin the blade with a disruption field, allowing it to overload the bonds between the component atoms of whatever it's swung at and thus is able to cut through even the most durable materials like butter. However, the generator built into the sword has a limited amount of power left, and when that runs out, the sabre will simply work like any other sword. The laspistol, or laser pistol, is one of many forms of lasweaponry the Imperium has come to rely on. No more powerful than a modern-day handgun, the laspistol will never jam or misfire and can function in the most hostile of environments. It is capable of being solar-charged, though the process of recharging can take upwards of a week after extensive use. Naturally, Yarrick is very proficient in the use of both. Weaknesses: Physically, Yarrick's age and injuries are catching up with him, even with the rejuvenatory treatments a grateful Imperium had him undergo. He is more or less in constant low-level pain from nervous damage across the length and breadth of his body, which hinders his movements and may also hinder him in a fight. Psychologically, Yarrick suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and has done for some time; though his courage and force of will remain undimmed, certain noises, sights or smells can generate a feeling of deep discomfort and stress in him, and can in extreme circumstances cause flashbacks, which leave him weakened, confused and fairly disoriented for up to half an hour afterwards. Personality Sebastian Yarrick, generally speaking, is a farily quiet, calm old man when not on the battlefield. Amongst the officers, he speaks in confident, fairly dry manner, and has a distinctly self-depreciating sense of humour, usually focussing the jokes he makes on his age or the stereotypical effects of being old. This is usually to put them a bit more at ease in his presence, as serving your first day under a man so heavily scarred and mechanical can be a little bit intimidating if you're not prepared for it, and someone who is easily intimidated won't be worth much when push comes to shove. This does not mean he is easy-going or approachable, however; Yarrick is still bound by the training he recieved to maintain a strict hierarchy of command, and in some ways can be very inflexible about how it is maintained. In this capacity, he often comes to rely on a certain officer or group of officers whose functions then make them almost an aide to him, so as to bridge the gap between the General and his troops. Generally, he does not like to do admin work in loud or bustling environments, though this was forced upon him during the Armageddon War due to the circumstances; he finds it distracting when people are running about or shouting too loudly in his presence, and believes he focusses best on his work when people aren't "pissing around", as he would put it. He tries to work with battleplans that balance the need for victory and a successful end to a campaign with the needs of the troopers and officers under his command, and though he will unflinchingly march troops to their deaths if, say, a civilian population will be saved by such an action, he has suffered no small amount of guilt over having to do so in the past. In battle, he tends to be a hell of a lot louder and more fiery, the better to make sure his orders are heard, and to inspire the troops with his own apparent fearlessness in the face of the enemy. Yarrick believes as much in appearances as any other Commissar, and so acts in a way that makes him appear to be even braver than he already is, so that the soldiers under him share in his confidence and thus fight all the harder when push comes to shove. To do this, he often deliberately fights on or near the frontline; again, nothing gives troops greater confidence, in his mind, than knowing their superiors are going through the same things they are; besides, the frontline - despite it being a risky place for him with his PTSD - is where he earned his medals and scars, and he would not have it said that he used old age to take life easier in Pandora. Yarrick, though brave and considerate of his troops and officers when in battle, does have flaws. His biggest flaw, really, is his xenophobic nature. The Imperium is a highly insular and suspicious galactic power, millenia of violent warfare with various alien species having shaped humanity's views on non-humans in a rather negative fashion. Though not as bad in this regard as say, an Ecclesiarchy preacher, Yarrick is still mistrustful of aliens, though not to the point where working with them is impossible. However, there are certain species he will not tolerate in his presence, the most notorious of which being the Orks, whom he hates with a passion due to the devastation of the war they brought to his homeworld. Appearance Due to years of hardship and the ravaging effects of Armageddon's harsh, dust-filled climate, Yarrick's skin is scarred, pockmarked and somewhat devoid of colouration. He is fairly tall, standing at 6ft precisely, and has clearly retained much of the muscle of his youth and prime, his frame still being fairly broad and powerful to look at. His one remaining eye is a dull grey in colour, and is sharp in gaze; though he often makes jokes about his waning eyesight, the fact remains that he still has one hell of a glare on him, as anyone who pisses him off will soon discover. His uniform, unchanged even though he has now officially taken the position of General of the Pandoran Army, consists of a jet-black greatcoat and peaked cap, each heavy with both Imperial military insignia and iconography. Around his waist is a red sash, a sign that he has successfully graduated and earned the rank of Commissar, though such a title is now more or less defunct in Pandora. He also wears a ceramite breastplate, which works in a similar way to modern body armour. Out of respect to King Arthur and the Pandoran Army, Yarrick has also integrated into his uniform a lapel badge based on Arthur's coat of arms, to show his unity with the rest of the army without sacrificing the iconography of his home. Relationships Riza Hawkeye - A trusted advisor and subordinate, and also a close friend. She more or less fills an unofficial role as his personal assistant as well as her duties as a Lieutenant, partially due to his unfamiliarity with many of the terms in Pandoran documentation, and he sees her as key to the smooth running of the Army. General Ross - Though new to him, Yarrick decided that Ross was likely to understand the needs of the military and balance them with the needs of the government as best he could. He was a trusted ally before his sudden disappearance. Lust - the Secretary and Liasion with the Government is not someone Yarrick especially feels kindly towards. Though he knows her simply as Solaris and does not know of her past, her lack of military experience and meddling nature does not endear her to him, and he dislikes that she seems to be interfering with what he sees as his realm of command. Arthur Pendragon - The King appears young and slightly naive to Yarrick's somewhat pessimistic eyes, but otherwise Arthur has impressed the aged Commissar with his vitality and determination to fit the role of Pandora's ruler as best he can. He is a friend, and a person in whom Yarrick has utmost confidence. Olivier Mira Armstrong - Having been personally responsible for her appointment with the Army as a drill sergeant, Yarrick respects her toughness and personal discipline, and counts her as a valuable member of the force. Lin Beifong - After encountering her briefly, Yarrick has come to the conclusion that Guardsman Beifong is vastly overqualified for her current position. He will no doubt be keeping a close eye on her future career as a result of this - for that reason, and also because she is a psyker in his eyes. Yarrick knows of most if not all of the members of the Pandoran Royal Army, though mostly they are simply aquaintances to him. He will no doubt gain more of a feeling for each of them as time goes on. Yarrick's new arm was designed and made by Winry Rockbell, but she disappeared soon after it's completion. Yarrick has not seen her since. History Commissar Sebastian Yarrick was born on the world of Armageddon, a planet that functioned as one enormous industrial complex for the entire subsector it was to be found in. Guns, tanks, aircraft and armour were shipped out from it's forges to world as far out as the borders of the Eye of Terror, and it's position in the cosmos made it a crossing-point for various warp routes, and all but guaranteed it's strategic importance to the Imperium, it's owner for almost ten thousand years. Like most children accepted into the Schola Progenium, Yarrick was an orphan. His parents both served in the off-world regiments of the Armageddon Steel Legion; a guardsman's life expectancy can be short indeed, depending on where they are sent, and Yarrick's parents were unlucky in this regard, killed in an ambush on their ships by Dark Eldar pirates whilst attempting to make the warp-jump back home. Yarrick's father was an officer, which gave the young boy one more option than his less fortunate fellows; he was inducted into the Schola Progenium, to be trained into one of the Imperial Guard's most feared and respected enforcers, the Commissars. As the years went by, Yarrick grew both into manhood and into his role in the Imperium's armed forces. He was not one of the Commissars that were loathed by the troops he was assigned to, and yet nor was he overly loved. Indeed, his early career remains unremarkable, if promising; a young officer rising steadily through the ranks through hard work and diligence would not be too far off the mark, were one to describe the formative years of his career. Eventually, this paid off somewhat, and Yarrick ended up assigned to the council of Governor Von Strab, the then-Planetary Governor, a foolish, pampered and indolent cretin who had earned the title hereditarily. Naturally, Sebastian was not thrilled about working with him, but understood that someone had to act as the liasion between the Imperial Guard and the Governor. For some years, his job effectively consisted of edging Von Strab into less wasteful decisions and getting ignored most of the time. And then war came to Armageddon, bringing the Orks with it. Ghazghull Thraka, grand warlord of the Ork horde, had but one objective in mind; to grind Armageddon to dust, thus triggering an even greater orkish military migration - known as Waaaghs! to the greenskins - which would consume the entire sector. The orks made planetfall within days of entering the system, smashing aside both the spacebourne fleet and arial defence force of the planet with brute determination and sheer weight of numbers. Von Strab, ignorant of the threat, believed that the PDF currently mustered would be more than enough to defeat the invaders, despite warnings from various sources indicating a greater disturbance in the warp routes to Armageddon. Upon hearing this, Yarrick immediately realised what it meant; the orks that had landed so far were but an advance force. Against Von Strab's orders, he sent a distress signal to the Imperium at large, desperately calling for aid before it was too late. Though this action earned him the ire of the givernor and a banishment to Hades Hive, the traditional end of any officer's career, it was arguably the action that saved Armageddon from subjugation. Though the orks conquered most of the southern hemisphere within a year of landing, their campaign in the south drew to a sudden and bloody halt when their forces finally reached Hades Hive. There, Yarrick had organised defences and recruited as many of the men and women of the hive as were able to fight, sometimes forcibly concluding peace treaties between rival criminal gangs in order to assure their co-operation, before preparing to face the oncoming horde. Despite their vast numbers and fury, the Orks could not gain ground; they were ambushed, led into booby-trapped courtyards, picked off by snipers hidden on the rooftops, and killed by the dozen. Hades became to the orks a personal hell, where a decent fight, such as all orks desired, could not be found, and every casualty they took was a wasteful one. So vicious and unrelenting did the fighting become that Ghazghull Thraka himself chose to lead the attack. By this point, the defenders had been ground down to the point of exhaustion, and Yarrick himself had lost an eye and an arm to the invaders whilst repelling them from the defences. He knew, looking at the massing and newly galvanised hordes, that time had run out for Hades, and that this was to be their last stand. Steeling himself, he ordered every last soldier and citizen still standing to the defences. If Hades HIve were to fall, then they would make sure it cost the orks everything they had to take it. Though their defence was ferocious, and once more orks died by the hundreds, the greenskins could not be stopped, and the Hive fell after nearly nie months of holding out. In the hopes of cutting the head from the invasion, Yarrick found Thraka and personally duelled him, but even with the looted mechanical claw he now sported, the Ork warlord was too much for him. Headbutting the Commissar to the floor after beating him half to death, Ghazghull stalked off to combat the newly-arrived Imperial reinforcements. Yarrick survived his encounter with the warlord, and upon hearing that the beast had in fact survived the counter-invasion, swore not to rest until he was hunted down and slain. Joining with a band of Space Marines and Imperial Guard regiments, Yarrick set off for the last known location of his nemesis. However, at the critical moment when the ships begin to warp jump, but before the Gellar field that prevents warp-being incursions in the ship had powered up, the floor of the deck that the Commissar was standing on ripped open. A cloud of black, vinelike tendrils whipped out, seizing him in their grasp. The Adeptus Astartes nearby charged in, attempting to haul their ally free before the Daemon could take him for itself. However, with a horrible mechanical tearing, the Commissar was gone, leaving one Space Marine staring down at Yarrick's personal trophy from the war, now cradled in his hands; a great hydraulic claw... Pandora History